title: Cultural and gender differences in emotion regulation: relation to depression.
abstract: In the last decade, studies have shown that the use of specific emotion regulation strategies contributes to an increased risk for depression. Past research, however, has overlooked potential cultural and gender differences in emotion regulation. The present study examined the relation between the use of emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms among college students in two different cultures (n=380 in Seoul, Korea; n=384 in Miami, USA). Koreans, compared with American students, reported more frequent use of brooding, whereas Americans reported more anger suppression than Koreans. Women were more likely than men to use both types of rumination (i.e., reflective pondering and brooding) and anger suppression in both countries, but these gender differences disappeared once levels of depressive symptoms were controlled for. In addition, the association between the use of reappraisal and depressive symptoms was significantly stronger in the Korean compared to the US sample. In contrast, the association between anger suppression and depressive symptoms was significantly stronger in the American compared to the Korean sample. These findings highlight the importance of considering the role of culture in emotion regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hoin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: K Lira
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Jutta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joormann
authors.forename: Jung-Hye
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology